Monday, December 04, 2017

James Levine

The archives of the Metropolitan Opera show 2686 entries for the conductor James Levine. I recently posted a guide to the Met On Demand. Most of the early films found there will show James Levine conducting.

So now we have a hideous scandal involving him. Many people are said to have known this was going on, but it never rose to general awareness. Behind the scenes sex is a known feature of show business. In the film world there are magazines devoted to telling you who is messing around with whom. But classical music likes to pretend this doesn't extend to them.

I don't know what to say. I've thought for a while that he should have retired, but he seemed not to want to even think about it. Now others will be found to conduct his performances. Did he do these things? Probably. With all my heart I hope it will not kill the Metropolitan Opera. Perhaps Peter Gelb should retire. I don't want this great cultural institution to disappear from my life. I probably won't miss Levine.